The Hug is BACK
You might recall back in the day that when you saw somebody you were friends with, loved, related to, had affection for, you gave them a hug and sometimes a kiss. Was that the birth of pornography? I don’t think so! Hugs seemed to go out of fashion and reserved only for funerals and holidays nowadays in the older generations. I miss the hug, getting one always made me melt and know that somebody cared enough about me to let me be embraced affectionately by them. Somehow the hug has or is making a huge comeback in our latest generation of kids and I couldn’t be happier.
If you were raised as a kid in the late fifties, early sixties, even into the seventies you grew up under the dark cloud of the Cold War. Did it scare the crap out of you then? It sure as hell did me! And for the record I never once was told to hide under my school desk during a drill. I was taught by my Dad what to do if the teacher told us we were under nuclear attack. Kiss the cutest girl next to you and then kiss your ass goodbye. It didn’t make sense to me at the time as a second or third grader but I always managed to sit next to the prettiest girl in the class just in case. Matter of fact, I think that life long lesson and logic followed me till I graduated High School.
Anywho, young teenage kids have lived under the Bush/Cheney Presidency where at any minute, terrorists would attack and 9/11 would look like child’s play. How would you like to be a kid with that on the news day after day for eight years? Your parents watching the news while you do your homework. What kind of fear did that instill in these kids? If you lose all your money playing online poker, you might just need a hug yourself
Over at the New York Times they have this piece on kids hugging in school and it nearly brought me to tears…
For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’
By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: May 27, 2009
There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type:
Katie Dea and Henry Begler, both 14, at the Claire Lilienthal School in San Francisco, prefer a friendly hug to a high-five greeting.
There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.
There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.
There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once.
“We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug,” said Danny Schneider, a junior at the school, where hallway hugging began shortly after 7 a.m. on a recent morning as students arrived. “The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in.”
Hug Snippet
“Maybe it’s because all these kids do is text and go on Facebook so they don’t even have human contact anymore,” said Dona Eichner, the mother of freshman and junior girls at the high school in Montvale. - New York Times
As the father of five daughters I can show some concern but I honestly think this is a generation of kids that are scared by the media reports of death always around the corner. My heart goes out to these kids and God bless them for showing that they love their fellow human being. Hugging is or should not be a prosecutable offense by school officials. Granted, to much of a good thing can lead to a bad thing where you have a grandchild on the way so some discretion and rules need to be applied. But still a three or four or five second hug is not or should not be a punishable offense.
Group HUG! Come on, gather the family, friends or hell hug the mailman or meter reader. Okay, leave the mailman or meter reader out of it if you want to avoid a restraining order but you get the idea. We need to show one another the appreciation of our combined existence in this world once in a while and there is nothing wrong with hugging somebody.
Who says the next generation can’t show us old farts something new?
Papamoka
If you were raised as a kid in the late fifties, early sixties, even into the seventies you grew up under the dark cloud of the Cold War. Did it scare the crap out of you then? It sure as hell did me! And for the record I never once was told to hide under my school desk during a drill. I was taught by my Dad what to do if the teacher told us we were under nuclear attack. Kiss the cutest girl next to you and then kiss your ass goodbye. It didn’t make sense to me at the time as a second or third grader but I always managed to sit next to the prettiest girl in the class just in case. Matter of fact, I think that life long lesson and logic followed me till I graduated High School.
Anywho, young teenage kids have lived under the Bush/Cheney Presidency where at any minute, terrorists would attack and 9/11 would look like child’s play. How would you like to be a kid with that on the news day after day for eight years? Your parents watching the news while you do your homework. What kind of fear did that instill in these kids? If you lose all your money playing online poker, you might just need a hug yourself
Over at the New York Times they have this piece on kids hugging in school and it nearly brought me to tears…
For Teenagers, Hello Means ‘How About a Hug?’
By SARAH KERSHAW
Published: May 27, 2009
There is so much hugging at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, N.J., that students have broken down the hugs by type:
Katie Dea and Henry Begler, both 14, at the Claire Lilienthal School in San Francisco, prefer a friendly hug to a high-five greeting.
There is the basic friend hug, probably the most popular, and the bear hug, of course. But now there is also the bear claw, when a boy embraces a girl awkwardly with his elbows poking out.
There is the hug that starts with a high-five, then moves into a fist bump, followed by a slap on the back and an embrace.
There’s the shake and lean; the hug from behind; and, the newest addition, the triple — any combination of three girls and boys hugging at once.
“We’re not afraid, we just get in and hug,” said Danny Schneider, a junior at the school, where hallway hugging began shortly after 7 a.m. on a recent morning as students arrived. “The guy friends, we don’t care. You just get right in there and jump in.”
Hug Snippet
“Maybe it’s because all these kids do is text and go on Facebook so they don’t even have human contact anymore,” said Dona Eichner, the mother of freshman and junior girls at the high school in Montvale. - New York Times
As the father of five daughters I can show some concern but I honestly think this is a generation of kids that are scared by the media reports of death always around the corner. My heart goes out to these kids and God bless them for showing that they love their fellow human being. Hugging is or should not be a prosecutable offense by school officials. Granted, to much of a good thing can lead to a bad thing where you have a grandchild on the way so some discretion and rules need to be applied. But still a three or four or five second hug is not or should not be a punishable offense.
Group HUG! Come on, gather the family, friends or hell hug the mailman or meter reader. Okay, leave the mailman or meter reader out of it if you want to avoid a restraining order but you get the idea. We need to show one another the appreciation of our combined existence in this world once in a while and there is nothing wrong with hugging somebody.
Who says the next generation can’t show us old farts something new?
Papamoka
Labels: Hugging, Hugs, New York Times, Sarah Kershaw, School Hugs, Teenagers
posted by Papamoka at
9:51 PM
5 Comments:
I'm a hugger too! I will always feel my Dads wonderful lovin hugs, even tho he has been gone for 19 years. I do remember going into the hallway in school and leaning against the wall, squat down, during the drills. But I don't remember having fear, I guess I wasn't exposed to news and fear from my parents. I feel sorry for the kids today and the fearmongering they are exposed to. My sister put this nostradamus show on one night and her girls were crying and terrified about the subject matter, I would never watch that let alone let my kids watch!! They say hug a woman everyday, it releases endorphins, makes her HAPPY!! Anyway.. heres a big ((((HUG)))) for you PapaM!!! xo
I agree. Hugs are a good thing for the younger generation (this coming from the Dad of a 17 year old girl). But how does this comport with the current rage of 'inappropriate' (meaning total) contact bans which are appearing in schools? Seems like we are not all same page on this.
MMO'K
I don't know but it seemed the biggest fear amongst the kids was the actual 9/11 attack itself. Sure scared the crap out of my family and friends.
But now we have nothing to fear because we are safe now. Especially when we the Civilian Security Force is put in place and the new "Cyber Czar" is on the job looking out for all of us. Not to mention the biggest hardship this country has ever ssen with the new HR2454 bill coming down the pike.
And then when the opposition is shut down in the guise of the Fairness Doctrine well we will just be living in a modern day Utopia.
Now this is information we should definitly spare our kids from knowing about.
But no need to fear because this is all "good" stuff.
Lisa
Awe schucks Sue... Big hug right back at ya! ;)
Lisa, you get an extra big hug too!
Welcome to the group MMOK? Those initials look familiar???
Thanks Papa I really could use one,Have a great weekend and for being diplomatic.
Lisa
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